Aggression

 Aggression is any action intended to cause harm to a person or thing. The key here is intent. If you throw a plate at someone and it misses their head, it's still technically aggression because you meant to cause harm. If you punch a wall, it's still aggression because you damaged a wall. But if you drop the plate on someone's head or trip and put your fist through a wall, it isn't aggression because the damage was unintentional.

Subdivisions of the broader term fall into three categories:

• Hostile aggression
• Instrumental aggression
• Relational aggression

Hostile aggression is the most commonly thought of form of aggression.

Here, the smaller boy acts aggressively, striking the larger boy several times.  When the bullied child retaliates, he also responds aggressively, dropping the bully and inflicting harm as well.

Instrumental aggression is more commonly found in sporting events and military campaigns.

When the players tackle another player, the intent is not necessarilty to cause harm to the player, but rather to ensure that their team mate is able to advance the ball. While harm may result, it is not the sole intent of the action.

Finally, relational aggression is harming someone by attacking their relationships with others.

In this clip, Regina faces exclusion from her friends by virtue of wearing the wrong clothing. This form of aggression is more commonly associated with women as opposed to hostile aggression which is often associated with men.